Systems and methods for package sortation and delivery using radio frequency identification technology

ABSTRACT

A disclosed method comprises scanning a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag on a package to generate scanned data, and generating a handling instruction for the package based on the scanned data. The handling instruction can be executed to route the package to a tip position within a hub facility for directing the package to the next location along its route, and/or to pre-load the package in a vehicle for delivery to the package&#39;s final destination. Related systems and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a U.S. nonprovisional application filedpursuant to Title 35, United States Code §§100 et seq. and 37 C.F.R.Section 1.53(b) claiming priority under Title 35, United States Code §119(e) to U.S. provisional application No. 60/381,485 filed May 16, 2002naming Anthony Baldassari, Duane Anderson, and Robert Peters asinventors. Both the subject application and its provisional applicationhave been or are under obligation to be assigned to the same entity.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the use of radio frequencyidentification technology in package sortation and delivery systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Barcodes are well known in the package delivery industry as a method ofidentifying and tracking packages. The barcode is a binary codeconsisting of a field of bars and gaps arranged in a parallelconfiguration. The bars and gaps are arranged according to a givenpattern that corresponds to some data. The configuration of the bars andgaps reflect a pattern when illuminated by a laser scanner. The opticalpower received by the scanner can then be processed and the dataassociated with the configuration extracted. Thus, in the case ofbarcode reading, transmission of data is performed optically.

In the context of a package delivery system, packages bearing barcodesare scanned at various points in a carrier system and the data capturedfrom the barcodes are used to route the package through the system. Inaddition, the information captured from the barcode may be uploaded to apackage tracking database and made available to shippers and consigneesthat wish to track the progress of a package through the carrier system.However, there are several limitations with using barcodes to performthese functions. For one, the process of scanning a barcode requires adirect line of sight between the reader and the barcode. Even inautomated carrier sortation facilities, packages must be manually placedon the sortation conveyor belts so that the barcode of the packageshipping label will be properly aligned for the scanning process.Another problem is that the barcode becomes unreadable if the code isobscured or if the package label bearing the code is damaged in theshipping process.

A need therefore exists in the industry for an improved method ofcapturing package information that overcomes deficiencies in the priorart, some of which are discussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The described hereinabove, and achieve numerous advantages not disclosedmethods and systems, in their various embodiments, overcome thedisadvantages previously possible.

According to one embodiment, a disclosed method comprises scanning aradio-frequency identification (RFID) tag on a package to generatescanned data, and generating a handling instruction for the packagebased on the scanned data. The scanning can be performed by conveyingthe package on a belt passed an RFID interrogator that generates scanneddata by scanning the RFID tag. The handling instruction can be executedto sort the package for delivery to a sort location in a hub facility todirect the package to the next location along the route to its finaldestination. Alternatively, the handling instruction can be executed topre-load the package on a vehicle for delivery to the package's finaldestination. The scanned data can comprise an RFID identifier to permita hub control system to retrieve corresponding package information toroute the package to its destination. Alternatively, the scanned datacan itself comprise package information data identifying the destinationof the package. The package can be scanned at more than one locationalong its route to generate package tracking data that can be stored ina database to notify a shipper, consignee or addressee, and possiblyothers involved with the package shipment of the package's status and/orto assign work resources to route the package to its destination.

The disclosure is also directed to related systems and computer-readablemedia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a package sortation system that employs RFIDtechnology to capture package information in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is another view of a package sortation system in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a package sortation system as a component of apackage pre-load system in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a pre-load assist system in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates how a pre-load assist label is used to load a packageonto a package car in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps of apre-load process in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps of selectinga dispatch plan in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps ofinitializing a dispatch plan and readying the plan for real-time accessin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps of assigningpre-load handling instructions to packages in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows to pre-load assist labels in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a screen shot from a dispatch management system that ismonitoring a pre-load operation in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates an enhanced DIAD download system in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed andthat modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

A. Radio Frequency Identification Technology

A technology known as radio frequency identification technology (RFID)uses radio waves rather than optics to capture and transmit data. RFIDis basically a form of labeling where electronic labels or tags areprogrammed with unique information and attached to objects to beidentified or tracked. In RFID electronic chips are used to store datathat can be broadcast via radio waves to a reader, eliminating the needfor a direct line of sight and making it possible for tags to be placedanywhere on or in a package. Additional benefits of RFID are the greaterdata storage capacity of the RFID tag in comparison to the barcode andthe decreased likelihood that the RFID tag will be destroyed orotherwise made unreadable.

A typical RFID system consists of a reader, a tag and a data processingsystem to process the data read from the tag. The tag also is called atransponder, an expression which is derived from TRANSmitter/resPONDERand, in some cases, the term tag is used for low-frequency (e.g. 125kHz), whereas the term transponder is used for high-frequency (e.g.13.56 MHz and 2.45 GHz) tags. But for purposes of this application theterms tag and transponder are used interchangeably. The complexity ofthe reader (sometimes referred to herein as an interrogator) can varyconsiderably, depending on the type of tag used and the function to befulfilled. In general, a reader has radio circuitry to communicate witha tag, a microprocessor to check and decode the data and implement aprotocol, a memory to store data and one or more antennas to receive thesignal.

Unlike a barcode reader, which is limited to reading a single barcode ata time, a RFID reader may have more than one tag in its interrogationzone. The interrogation zone, as that term is used herein, refers to thearea covered by the magnetic field generated by the reader's antenna.The process of reading a number of transponders within a system'sinterrogation zone is known as batch reading. Software applicationsknown as anticollision algorithms exist that permit a reader to avoiddata collision from several tags that enter the interrogation zone atthe same time. One of three different anticollision techniques isgenerally implemented; these techniques are spatial, frequency and timedomain procedures.

In the spatial domain technique, the reader restricts its interrogationzone in order to reduce the possibility that two different transpondersfall into the area covered by the reader itself. With this technique,the number of readers needed to cover an area increases in proportion tothe size of the covered area. Frequency domain procedures are based onfrequency domain multiplex techniques or spread spectrum technologies.In these systems, the reader broadcasts a status of frequenciesallocated to the communication with the transponders, with frequenciesflagged that are currently in use by a transponder. When a newtransponder accesses the reader's coverage, it uses an unoccupiedfrequency to transmit its data.

Time domain anticollision techniques are divided into two categories:interrogator and transponder driven procedures. In addition,interrogator driven time domain anticollision procedures can besub-divided into polling and binary search procedures. Pollingtechniques make use of the fact that a unique serial number is writtento each transponder at the production stage. In the polling technique,the interrogator requests all possible transponder serial numbers untila transponder with a polled serial number responds. The pollingprocedure is typically slow and generally is limited to processesemploying small numbers of transponders. The other interrogator drivenprocedure is the binary search. A binary search is faster than thepolling technique, and is based on search algorithms that use binarytrees of transponder identifiers. In the transponder drivenanticollision procedures, the transponder, rather than the interrogator,controls the data flow. In general, transponder driven procedures arebased on the cyclic transmission of identifiers by transponders and aredesigned such that it is unlikely that any two transponders will sendthe same identifier at the same time.

B. Use of RFID Technology in a Carrier Hub Sortation

The following paragraphs describe novel methods and systems wherein RFIDtechnology is used in connection with a package sortation and deliverysystem. FIG. 1 illustrates a package sortation system 10 that employsRFID technology to capture package information. In this embodiment, thesortation system 10 includes a conveyor belt 15, an interrogator 20, aflow server 25, a hub control system 30, an indexed data server 35, acamera controller 40 and a machine controller 45.

The package sortation system 10 described herein may be used in acarrier hub facility or as part of a pre-load sortation system. Acarrier hub facility is typically an interim facility where packages aresorted for shipment to other carrier facilities in route to theirultimate destinations. In contrast, packages that pass through apre-load sortation system are sorted onto package cars and delivered totheir final destination. Although the following paragraphs describe thisembodiment of the package sortation system 10 in the context of acarrier hub facility, one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyrecognize that this embodiment is equally advantageous in the pre-loadsortation context, or in any other package sortation operation.

Packages arrive at a carrier hub facility and are placed on a conveyorbelt 15, which takes the packages to the package sortation system 15.Each package is equipped with a RFID package tag 50 that may be part ofor separate from the shipping label on the package. In a preferredembodiment, the RFID package tag 50 has a unique alphanumeric characterstring (herein referred to as a RFID identifier 55) that identifies thepackage. Packages may be individually placed on the conveyor belt 15 ormay be grouped together in a package container. Because the package tagcommunicates via a radio signal, the orientation of the package on theconveyor belt is irrelevant. Whereas in a barcode sortation system aperson must manually align the packages onto the conveyor belt 15 inpreparation for a scanning process, in the present invention movement ofpackages onto the conveyor belt 15 may be automated.

As a package moves on the conveyor belt 15 to the sortation system 10,an interrogator 20 reads the RFID package tag 50 and captures an RFIDidentifier 55 associated with the package. RFID package tags 50 may beactive or passive depending on whether they have an on-board powersource or not. In general, active tags use batteries to power the tagtransmitter (radio) and receiver. These tags usually contain a greaternumber of components than do passive tags. Therefore, active tags areusually larger in size and are more expensive than passive tags. Inaddition, the life of an active tag is directly related to battery life.In contrast, a passive tag reflects the RF signal transmitted to it froma reader and adds information by modulating the reflected signal. Apassive tag does not use a battery to boost the energy of the reflectedsignal. But a passive tag may use a battery to maintain memory in thetag or power the electronics that enable the tag to modulate thereflected signal.

A benefit of using RFID technology to capture a package identifier isthe speed at which the package tag 50 can be read. Whereas it can takeas long as two to three seconds to scan a barcode by hand, a RFIDpackage tag 50 can be read in approximately twenty-five milliseconds. Asa result, the present invention allows the conveyor belt 15 to be set ata higher speed and packages are processed by the sortation system 10 inless time.

When the interrogator 20 reads the RFID package tag 50, the package RFIDidentifier 55 is captured and sent to the flow server 25, which, inturn, passes the package identifier 55 to the hub control system 30. Ina preferred embodiment, the hub control system 30 is a system thatcontrols the movement of packages through the carrier hub facility. Acarrier hub facility generally contains multiple conveyors that movepackages to various tip positions within the building, and the hubcontrol system 30 is aware of every location within the facility. Theterm tip position is known in the art and refers to a location in acarrier hub facility in which packages bound for a particulardestination are tipped off a conveyor belt and prepared for transit tothat destination. Thus, for example, a hub control system 30 mayrecognize that packages that are bound for Atlanta, Ga. need to besorted to tip position 1, whereas packages bound for Los Angeles, Calif.should be sent to tip position 49.

At the start of a package sort, the hub control system 30 retrieves ahub master file 60 associated with the hub facility and maps theinformation from the hub master file 60 to the sortation and tippositions for the hub facility. In a preferred embodiment, the data inthe hub master file 60 determines the path that will be used to movepackages through the hub facility to their next destination. The hubcontrol system 30 contacts the hub master file 60 and downloads everypossible carrier hub facility that might be the next destination of apackage involved in the package sort. The hub control system 30 thenmaps each potential package destination to a unique tip position in thehub facility. As packages are received, the hub control system 30 usesthe hub master file 60 to determine the next hub facility destinationfor the package. The hub control system 30 then determines whichlocation within the building (i.e. which tip position) to sort thepackage to so that the package will be routed to the proper hubfacility. And finally, the hub control system 30 determines thesortation path through the building so that the package will be sortedto the proper tip location.

Returning to FIG. 1, if the package information received by the hubcontrol system 30 includes the destination zip code and service levelfor the package, the hub control system 30 issues a hub handlinginstruction for the package. In one embodiment, the RFID identifier 55captured by the interrogator and passed to the hub control system 30includes sufficient information to generate a hub handling instruction.In an alternative embodiment, the RFID identifier 55 does not containsufficient package information to allow the hub control system 30 toassign a hub handling instruction and the identifier 55 is forwarded onto the indexed data server 35.

If the hub control system 30 cannot generate a hub handling instruction,the RFID identifier 55 is sent to the indexed data server 35 and used asan index into a package information database 65. The package informationdatabase 65 contains detailed information about some or all of thepackages in the carrier system. This information may originate withshippers that electronically upload the shipping detail for the packagesplaced in the carrier system. Alternatively, a carrier service providermay have picked up the package from the shipper and entered the packageinformation. Still another possibility is that another carrierapplication and/or operator captured the package detail information aspart of an earlier package sort and uploaded the information to thepackage information database 65. Additional information about thecapture, storage and access of package level detailed information is setforth in International Application No. WO 00/46726, which is herebyincorporated by reference.

In a preferred embodiment, before the first call is made to the packageinformation database 65, the package address data in the database isvalidated (or scrubbed) against one or more address databases in anaddress management system 70. In one embodiment, the address managementsystem 70 validates package level detail information against threedatabases, including a United States Postal Service (USPS) zip+4standard database 75, a carrier address standard database 80 and astreet and consignee alias database 85. The USPS zip+4 standard database75 includes all of the zip+4 addresses known to and maintained by theUSPS. The carrier address standard database 80 includes those addressesknown to the carrier that are not known to the USPS. In many cases, theaddresses in the carrier address database are addresses of individualswho live in rural areas where mail is delivered to a post office boxrather than to a physical address.

The third address database used to validate the package level detaildata is referred to herein as a street and consignee alias database 75.In a preferred embodiment, the street and consignee alias database 75includes alias information that the carrier has created based onhistorical delivery information. A “street alias” as that term is usedherein is a commonly-used name for a street or an address that isdifferent from the street address found in either the USPS or carrieraddress databases. For example, the USPS address standard for aparticular street may be Route 45. But Route 45 may be commonly referredto as York Street by the people that live or do business on the streetand, in fact, York Street may be the street name that is listed onstreet signs in the area. Thus, it is not uncommon for packages that aresent to Route 45 to bear the name York Street. Using an addressmanagement system interface 90, a user may create an alias entry in thestreet and consignee aliases database 85 so that when the addressmanagement system 70 receives a reference to York Street, the system 70will treat the address as a valid reference to Route 45.

A “consignee alias,” as that term is used herein, refers to a commonlyused consignee name, which is associated with a particular address. Asan example, assume a popular restaurant bears the name Jack & Jill'sSandwich Shop and is located at 10 Main Street, Baltimore, MD. 20093. Inthe USPS zip+4 address database 75 the only valid address for thislocation may be 10 Main Street, Baltimore, MD. 20093. In a preferredembodiment, carriers generally store address ranges rather thanindividual addresses; therefore, the carrier may recognize 10 MainStreet through 99 Main Street as valid addresses for Baltimore, MD.20093. However, in the package delivery industry it is not uncommon forpackages to be addressed to a popular consignee name. In this example,then, a carrier might receive a package addressed to Jack & Jill'sSandwich Shop, Baltimore, MD. 20093 or, alternatively addressed as Jack& Jill's, Maryland 20093. By using in the address management GUI, acarrier can create a consignee alias that associates either of theseshorthand addresses to the standard address for the restaurant. Thus,when the address management system 70 receives either of thesenon-standard references to the address for Jack & Jill's Sandwich Shop,the system 70 will treat the shorthand reference as a valid address.

Following the validation of the address data in the package informationdatabase 65 the package sort begins. If the hub control system 30 cannotassign a hub handling instruction to the package, the RFID identifier 55is passed to the indexed data server 35 and used to search thenow-validated package information database 65 to determine if a recordof the package exists. If the package information database 65 haspackage detail data for the package, the service level and destinationaddress are returned to the hub control system 30 and a hub handlinginstruction is assigned.

But if the package information database 65 does not have a record of thepackage, then package sortation system 10 relies on key-entry to capturethe package information. In one embodiment, an operator stands near theconveyor belt 15 and manually retrieves any packages that are notassigned a hub handling instruction. The operator physically reviews theshipping label of the package and key enters the package service leveland destination address. In a preferred embodiment the key-enteredinformation is sent to the flow server 25, which passes the key-enteredaddress to the address management system 70 to be validated. If a validaddress has been key-entered, a hub handling instruction is generatedbased on the package address and service level. If the shipping label isunreadable and/or if no valid address can be key-entered from thepackage shipping label, the package is identified as an exception andset aside for special handling.

In an alternative embodiment, the package sortation system 10 includes acamera collector 40 that captures an image of every package that passesthrough the system 10. If neither the indexed data server 35 nor the hubcontrol system 30 are able to assign a hub handling instruction to thepackage, the image of the package is sent to a telecode operator whoattempts to key enter the package information shown on the image. Atypical telecoding operation is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat.No. 5,770,841 to Moed, which is hereby incorporated by reference.Because this embodiment requires a package label to be scanned, thepackage may need to be oriented in such a way that the camera controller40 can capture an image of the label. As before, if the key-enteredpackage information is valid, the hub control system 30 generates theappropriate hub handling instruction. But if the operator cannot obtainan address from the package or if the address entered is invalid, thepackage is flagged for exception handling.

In a preferred embodiment, the camera controller 40 captures an image ofevery package that passes through the sortation system 10 and the imagesthat are unused are discarded. Alternatively, the camera controller 40captures only those images of packages that are not automaticallyassigned a hub handling instruction.

When the hub control system 30 assigns a hub handling instruction to apackage, the hub handling instruction is sent to the machine controller45. In a preferred embodiment, the machine controller 45 implements thehub handling instruction. Machine controllers 45 are known in the art.In general, the package sortation system 10 uses conventional systems,including belt optical encoders, to track the position of packages asthey move through the hub. The systems used to track and direct themovement of packages through a hub facility are known in the art.Information about the use of tilt trays in a sortation system isavailable in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,433,311 and 5,489,017, both issued toBonnet and both of which are herein incorporated by reference. U.S. Pat.No. 6,005,211 to Huang and U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,063 to Bonnet alsodiscuss the use of the sorter in the hub, and these patents too arehereby incorporated by reference.

In an alternative embodiment, the package sortation system 10 uses aseries of RFID interrogators to continuously track packages as they moveon conveyor belts 15 through the hub facility. In this embodiment, themachine controller 45 receives package location information from thesereaders and directs packages to their respective tip positions bycontrolling the speed and motion of the various conveyor belts 15. Thus,when the machine controller 45 receives a handling instruction thatidentifies the appropriate tip position for a package, the machinecontroller 45 sends commands to the belt conveyors 15 in the hubfacility to divert the package to the identified tip position.

In a preferred embodiment, when the machine controller 45 has sorted apackage to a tip position specified in a hub handling instruction, thecontroller 45 updates the indexed database server 35 to reflect the newlocation of the package. The package information database 65 is thusupdated with the latest package location information. In addition, theindexed data server 35 updates an accessible, for example via theInternet, package tracking database 95 so that the shipper, consignee orother persons tracking the package can determine updated statusinformation as the package is sorted through the hub facility and routedto the next stop in the carrier system. If desired, such persons mayreceive status notification, for example by email, at any point in thehandling of the package.

FIG. 2 is another view of the package sortation system 10 that shows thedata flow between some of the applications that are used in a packagesort. At the start of the sort, a network information system (NIS) 100sends a load plan to an hub operating application 105. The load plan isthe file that controls the movement of packages through the carriersystem in route to their ultimate destinations. Thus, for example, if apackage is shipped from Chicago to Florida, the load plan generated byNIS 100 determines which carrier facilities between Chicago and Floridawill be used to route the package. Load plans such as described hereinare known in the art.

The hub operating application 105 controls the movement of packageswithin the hub facility, and is configured to receive the load plan fromthe NIS 100 and map the sortation positions in the hub facility to thepackage destinations established by the load plan. The hub operatingapplication 105 also performs a manifest operation that requires theapplication 105 to track the location of every package in the hubfacility. As packages are sorted for shipment to other carrierfacilities, the hub operating application 105 notifies the otherfacilities which packages are inbound and approximates when the packageswill arrive. If packages are misrouted or otherwise depart from theirdelivery schedules, the hub operating application 105 handles therescheduling and re-forecasting of the packages. Thus, if a packagedestined to a carrier site is delayed, the hub operating application 105reschedules the package and notifies the carrier site of the delay andnew forecasted time of arrival.

In a preferred embodiment, the hub operating application 105 is part ofthe hub control system 30 and communicates with the indexed databaseserver 35 and the flow server 25. As described above, the flow server 25receives the RFID identifier 55 captured from the package and passes theinformation to the hub control system 30 and/or the indexed databaseserver 35 in an effort to assign a hub handling instruction to thepackage. If neither the hub control system 30 nor the index databaseserver 35 can assign a hub handling instruction to a package, the flowserver 25 retrieves an image of the package label from the cameracontroller 40 and sends the image to an operator 107 at key-entry unit109. And the operator key-enters the package address shown on theshipping label unit 109 transmits via unit 109 after the key-enteredaddress data to the flow server 25.

In a preferred embodiment, the package sortation system 10 also includesa dimensional weighing system (DWS) 110. The DWS 110 is a device thatweighs and measures packages as they travel along the conveyor belt 15.The weight and size of a package can be relevant to the sortationprocess as the weight and/or size of a package may affect the hubhandling instruction assigned to the package. For example, a conveyor ina hub facility may not be able to handle packages over a specifiedweight, or a particular package container may not be able to holdpackages that exceed a threshold size. Thus, in a preferred embodiment,the DWS 110 sends the weight and size of packages to the indexeddatabase server 35 so that the appropriate hub handling instruction isgenerated for heavy and/or oversized packages. Additional informationabout dimensional weighing is available in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,672,815 toPrutu, 5,340,950 to Smith, 5,408,054 to Smith and 5,908,283 to Huang,each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other kinds ofdata may be used for sorting packages. For example, such data caninclude data indicating whether the package is subject to duty ortariff, the value of the package contents, special handlinginstructions, and possibly other data. This data can be scanned directlyfrom an RFID tag associated with the package using the interrogatorand/or can be retrieved from one or more databases based on data scannedfrom the RFID tag.

In a preferred embodiment, the indexed database server 35 alsocommunicates with a sort destination server 115 and one or more sortposition scanners 120. In general, these are scanners and/or RFID tagreaders that are placed farther down the conveyor belt 15 from theinterrogator 20. In a preferred embodiment, these devices keep track ofthe location of packages so that the machine controller 45 can determinewhen to move or tip the package to another sortation area. The sortdestination server 115 also serves as an interface between the machinecontroller 45 and the indexed database server 35. In a preferredembodiment, the sort destination server 115 accesses the indexed dataserver 35 and determines the tip position for a package, and then passesthe tip position to the machine controller 45. The sort destinationserver 115 also stores the building configuration for the hub facilityand, in a preferred embodiment provides for real-time manual andautomated adjustments to the facility line-up.

The monitoring and reporting component 125 of the package sortationsystem 10 monitors the progress of the package sort. In a preferredembodiment, the monitoring and reporting component 125 monitors andreports all aspects of the package sort, including without limitation,total package volume sorted, package volume sorted by tip position,packages sent to exception handling and packages requiring key-entry. Inaddition, at the end of the sort, the monitoring and reporting component125 passes the package sortation data back to the NIS 100, which usesthe information in creating future load plans.

In a preferred embodiment, the machine controller 45 communicates with ascan server and/or an RFID interrogator server 130 to monitor and directthe movement of packages through the hub facility. As packages aresorted and moved from one conveyor to another, conventional systemstrack the movement of the packages. In another embodiment, RFIDinterrogators scan packages in the system and communicate the packagelocations to the machine controller 45, and the machine controller 45uses the package location information to direct the movement of thepackage to the tip position indicated by the hub handling instruction.In a preferred embodiment, the RFID interrogator/scan server 130 alsoreceives the divert information from the machine control systems andcontrols the movement of the package through the hub.

As packages are sorted to their respective tip positions, data about thepackage sortation is passed to one or more carrier databases for variouspurposes, including without limitation: package tracking, volumeforecasting and load handling. In a preferred embodiment, a packagelevel detail hub 135 uploads data to carrier systems and thereby servesas an interface between the package sortation system 10 and the carrierdatabases. As packages move through the hub facility, the package leveldetail hub 135 receives package sortation data from the scan/RFIDinterrogator server 130 and uploads the data to the various carrierdatabases.

C. Use of RFID Technology in a Package Pre-load System

In the package delivery context, the pre-load process is an importantstage in the delivery system. The packages have arrived at a carrierdestination facility and pre-loaders are responsible for loadingpackages onto package cars for delivery to their ultimate destinations.A carrier destination facility generally has multiple package cars thatare being loaded simultaneously and each package car is equipped withmultiple package storage locations.

Pre-loaders have the responsibility of ensuring that packages are loadedon the correct storage location of the correct package car. To date,this has been a highly manual process requiring an extensive knowledgebase on the part of the pre-loaders. Pre-loaders manually examine thedestination address on the package shipping label and determine frommemory, or with the aid of rudimentary load charts, which package cardelivers to that address and which shelf on the package car is theappropriate storage spot for that package. The complexities associatedwith the pre-load process require that a pre-loader receive extensivetraining on how to properly load packages. In some cases, pre-loadtraining lasts six or more weeks for each pre-loader, with additionaltime spent supervising recently trained pre-loaders. And notwithstandingthe extensive training, the highly manual and knowledge-based nature ofthe process often results in errors in the pre-load process.

Another problem with pre-load systems that are known in the art is thereliance on the knowledge base of employees to perform a pre-load. Asdiscussed above, much of the task of pre-loading relies on the abilityof the pre-loader to look at the destination address of a package andremember where that package should be loaded. Whenever a dispatch planchanges, the pre-load plan also changes and the pre-loaders are requiredto learn the new load locations for each of the destinations. As aresult, any changes to a dispatch plan that will impact the pre-loadmust be carefully considered as it requires a change in the pre-loaders'knowledge base and can negatively impact the package load operation.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a package sortation system 10 in thecontext of a package pre-load system 200. The package sortation system10 of FIG. 3 includes several components, including a dispatch planningsystem 205, a pre-load assist system 210, a flexible data capture system215, an address management system 70, an enhanced delivery informationacquisition device (DIAD) download system 220, and a DIAD unit 225. Eachof these systems is described in greater detail below.

A function of the dispatch planning system 205 is to generate andschedule one or more dispatch plans that directs the sequence in whichservice providers pick up and deliver packages in a designatedgeographical area. Dispatch plans are well known in the art and are useddaily by package carriers such as the United Parcel Services (UPS). At ahigh level, a dispatch plan is a method of separating a geographicalarea or territory into one or more service provider routes (deliveryroutes) and for each delivery route describing a service sequence forthe addresses in the route.

In a preferred embodiment, the dispatch plan published by the dispatchplanning system 205 includes a sequence of address ranges and anassociated pre-load handling instruction for each sequence and servicelevel combination. As described below, the pre-load handling instructionidentifies a load and a load position in a service provider vehicle. Thedispatch plan information is published to the pre-load assist system 210component of the system 10 at the start of the pre-load process. Thepre-load assist system 210, in turn, passes the address information fromthe dispatch plan to an address management system 70 to insure that thepackage address validation routine includes every address included inthe dispatch plan.

As packages are received, the flexible data capture system 215 capturesthe service level and destination address from the shipping label on thepackages. As described below, the data capture may occur automaticallyvia a RFID tag interrogation process, or it may require userintervention and key-entry of the package data. The address informationis then validated in the address management system 70 against an addressstandard, and the package address and service level information isforwarded to the pre-load assist system 210.

In one embodiment, the pre-load assist system 210 matches the packageaddress and service level against the dispatch plan information andreturns a pre-load handling instruction. In an alternative embodiment,the address management system 70 handles the matching of the packageaddress to the dispatch plan and passes an index to the matched dispatchplan record to the pre-load assist system 210, which, in turn, returnsthe pre-load handling instruction.

The pre-load assist system 210 then formats the pre-load handlinginstruction and sends the information to the flexible data capturesystem 215 where a pre-load assist label (PAL) is printed and affixed tothe package. The flexible data capture system 215 handles the printingof the PAL and the pre-load assist system 210 provides the pre-loadhandling instructions that make up the PAL. In a preferred embodiment,the pre-load assist system 210 provides the flexible data capture system215 with all of the information necessary to print the PAL. One ofordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that a PAL could beprinted by the pre-load assist system 210 or, alternatively, that a PALimage may be generated by the pre-load assist system 210 and transmittedto the flexible data capture system 215 for printing.

In a preferred embodiment, the pre-load handling instruction that isprinted on the PAL identifies the package car on which the package willbe loaded and a specific shelf location within the package car. Thepre-load operation is thus greatly simplified by generating pre-loadhandling instructions for each package in the pre-load process. Thesimplified presentation of pre-load handling instructions allows aninexperienced pre-loader to become productive almost immediately as theknowledge base necessary to perform the pre-load operation is reduced.Prior to the present invention, pre-loaders were required to memorizepotentially hundreds of addresses to load a delivery vehicle. Using theprocess described above, a pre-loader can readily perform the pre-loadoperation relying largely on the information present on the PAL.

FIG. 4 illustrates a pre-load assist system 210 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a pre-loadassist application 230 is in communication with a dispatch plan database235, flexible data capture system 215, address management system 70,enhanced DIAD download system 220, a dispatch management system 240, anda pre-load assist database 245.

In a preferred embodiment, one or more dispatch plans are created by thedispatch planning system 205 and stored in a dispatch plan database 235.At the start of a pre-load, the pre-load assist application 230retrieves the available dispatch plans from dispatch plans database 245and sends them to the dispatch management system 240 where a user hasthe option of accepting the scheduled dispatch plan or choosing anotherdispatch plan on which to base the pre-load. The user at the dispatchmanagement system 240 initiates the pre-load operation and the pre-loadassist application 230 prepares the dispatch plan for the pre-loadprocess.

As packages arrive in the pre-load area, the flexible data capturesystem 215 captures the destination addresses and service levels of thepackages (using processes described below) and validates the addressinformation using the address management system 70. A package servicelevel and a valid destination address is passed to the pre-load assistapplication 230 and a match is made against the dispatch plan to obtaina pre-load handling instruction for the package. In an alternativeembodiment, the matching of the package destination address against thedispatch plans is performed by the address management system 70 and thepackage service level and a dispatch plan index key is sent to thepre-load assist application 230 and used to generate the pre-loadhandling instructions.

The pre-load assist application 230 then passes the pre-load handlinginstruction information to the flexible data capture system 215 wherethe information is sent to a label printer and a pre-load assist label(PAL) is printed and affixed to the package.

FIG. 5 illustrates how a PAL is used to load a package onto a packagecar. An example of a PAL is shown at the lower left-hand comer of FIG.5. In a preferred embodiment, the pre-load handling instructions of aPAL comprise two 4-character identifiers separated by a hyphen. The fourcharacters on the left of the hyphen identify the route on which thepackage will be loaded, and the four characters to the right of thehyphen identify the load location on the package car. Subject to certainexceptions, a single package car is generally associated with a route.Thus, when a pre-loader sees the pre-load handling instructions on thePAL, the pre-loader immediately knows the package car and load positionfor the package. In this way, the pre-load handling instructions on thePAL eliminate the pre-loader reliance on a knowledge base of loadpositions and addresses, and allow a pre-loader to perform the pre-loadtask without extensive training.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the pre-load handling instructionson the PAL instruct the pre-loader to load the package in position 5889of route R021. With these pre-load handling instructions as a guide, thepre-loader identifies which of the three package cars is assigned toroute R021 and loads the package in the shelf position that isassociated with load positions 5000 through 5999. In a preferredembodiment, the load positions assigned to each package car are the samefor all package cars. Alternatively, a service provider and/orpre-loader may customize the load position of a package car in such away that the load position reflected on the PAL may identify differentload positions, depending on the package car that is being loaded.

In a preferred embodiment, a PAL has additional package information,including primary and secondary package sortation information, irregulardrop-off identifier, a DCAP station, a low to high indicator, a committime, the destination address/consignee name, a package tracking number.The primary sort identifier identifies the primary sort belt that movesthe package through the carrier facility and the secondary sortidentifier identifies the secondary belt that moves the package from theprimary belt to the belt where the package is loaded. The irregulardrop-off identifier identifies the location in the building where thepackage will be placed if it is too large, too heavy or shaped such thatit cannot be placed on a sorting belt. In general, packages bearing anirregular drop-off identifier are sorted manually. A DCAP stationassociates the package to a particular data capture workstation in theflexible data capture system 215. The low to high indicator indicatesthe order in which the package car should be loaded in the package car.In a preferred embodiment, if the low to high indicator is set, packagesare loaded sequentially from the lowest number in the street range (i.e.1 Main Street) to the highest number in the street range (i.e. 10 MainStreet). If the low to high indicator is not set, the packages areloaded from the highest number (10 Main Street).

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps of apre-load process in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The process starts at the beginning of the day when anoperator selects which dispatch plan will be used to perform a pre-load(Step100).

A. In Step 110 the pre-load assist application 230 prepares the selecteddispatch plan for the real-time operation of the pre-load process. InStep 120 the pre-load operation begins. The flexible data capture system215 begins capturing package information and sending it to the pre-loadassist application 90, which assigns pre-load handling instructions tothe packages. Once a pre-load handling instruction is generated and aPAL affixed to the package, in Step 130 the pre-load assist application230 manifests the package.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps of selectinga dispatch plan in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. In Step 101, a user requests the scheduled dispatch plan viathe dispatch management system 240. The request is sent from thedispatch management system 240 to the pre-load assist application 230and, in Step 102 the pre-load assist application 230 connects with thedispatch plan database 235 and requests the dispatch plan scheduled forthat day. In Step 103, the pre-load assist application 230 passes thescheduled dispatch plan to the dispatch management system 240. In apreferred embodiment, the dispatch management system 240 has access toall available dispatch plans, with the scheduled dispatch plan marked asthe default plan for the day. In Step 104, the dispatch managementsystem 240 selects the dispatch plan that will be used for the pre-loadprocess and the selected plan is sent to the pre-load assist application230. The selection of the dispatch plan can be made by an operator usingthe dispatch management system 240.

In a preferred embodiment, a pre-load assist database 245 includes acache of backup dispatch plans that are used for the pre-load operationin the event of a breakdown of the aforementioned process of retrievinga dispatch plan from the dispatch planning system 205.

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps ofinitializing a dispatch plan and readying the plan for real-time accessin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In Step 111,the dispatch management system 240 sends an instruction to the pre-loadassist application 230 to initialize the selected dispatch plan. In Step112, the pre-load assist application 230 contacts the dispatch plandatabase 235 and identifies which dispatch plan will be used for thepre-load process. In Step 113, the selected dispatch plan is sent to thepre-load assist application 230 where it is decompressed for real-timeaccess. In Step 114, the decompressed dispatch plan is sent to theaddress management system 70, where a check is performed to make surethat all of the addresses in the dispatch plan are recognized as validin the address validation databases used by the address managementsystem 70. In a preferred embodiment, the dispatch plan is decompressedand organized for real-time access/updates by the pre-load assistapplication 230 and stored in a pre-load assist database 245.

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram that illustrates the steps of assigningpre-load handling instructions to packages in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The processes described below aresometimes referred to herein as the scan, print and apply (SPA) process,and the exception handling or exception capture process. The exceptioncapture process applies to those packages that require key entry by auser to capture a valid destination address for the package.

In Step 121, an interrogator 20 reads a RFID package tag 50 and capturesa RF Identifier 55. In Step 122, the flexible data capture system 215uses the RF Identifier to perform a lookup in a package informationdatabase 65. If the package information database 65 has package detailinformation about the package, including the destination address andservice level of the package, then the process proceeds to Step 123. Ifthe package information database 65 does not have a record of thepackage the flexible data capture system 215 generates and affixes ablank PAL to the package. FIG. 10 shows two PALs in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, including a completed PAL on thetop and a blank PAL on the bottom.

In the flexible data capture system 215, key entry operators checkpackages that are headed to the pre-load area and if a package arriveswith a blank PAL then the operator manually reviews the shipping labeland attempts to key-enter a valid destination address for the package.If the operator is successful, a new PAL is generated and affixed to thepackage. If, however, the operator is unable to obtain a valid addressfor the package, the package is marked as an exception and sent to aspecial handling area where efforts additional efforts are made toobtain a valid destination address for the package.

Returning to FIG. 9, in Step 123 a package destination address is sentto the address management system 70 and the address is validated. If theaddress management system 70 determines that the destination address isa valid address, the process proceeds to Step 124 and the package detailinformation is sent from the flexible data capture system 215 to thepre-load assist application 210. If, however, the address managementsystem 70 determines that the destination address is not a validaddress, a blank PAL is generated and the package proceeds to thekey-entry operators.

In Step 124, the pre-load assist application 230 matches the packagedestination address against the dispatch plan. When the packagedestination address is matched against an address range in the plan, thepackage is associated with a specific loop-sequence combination. Thisloop-sequence combination, in turn, is assigned to a particular routeand to a particular load position in a package car. The pre-load assistapplication 230 also checks the service level of the package todetermine whether the package is subject to a particular commit time.Thus, by comparing the destination address and service level of thepackage against the dispatch plan, the pre-load assist application 230is able to generate pre-load handling instructions for the package. Ifthe package destination does not match against the dispatch plan, a PALis printed bearing a not in system identifier. Packages bearing a not insystem identifier are loaded on package cars without the benefit ofpre-load handling instructions.

In Step 125, the pre-load handling instructions are sent from thepre-load assist application 230 to the flexible data capture system 215,where a PAL is printed and affixed to the package.

Returning again to FIG. 6, once a pre-load handling instruction isgenerated and a PAL affixed to the package, in Step 130 the pre-loadassist application 230 manifests the package. In a preferred embodiment,the process of manifesting a package means that the package is added toa particular load manifest. As described below, the load manifest isultimately downloaded via the enhanced DIAD download system 220 to aDIAD unit 225 that a service provider carries on his or her route. Themanifest in the DIAD unit 225 thus provides the service provider with aclear picture of the work to be completed. In addition, the process ofmanifesting allows the pre-load assist application 230 to monitor theamount of work allocated to each load.

The process of downloading the manifest to a DIAD unit 225 is discussedin greater detail below. In general, the pre-load assist application 230stores the manifests for the pre-load in the pre-load assist database245. When the pre-load assist application 230 receives a request todownload a manifest to a DIAD unit 225, the pre-load assist application230 retrieves the requested manifest from the pre-load assist database245 and forwards the manifest to the enhanced DIAD download system 220.

As the pre-load proceeds, users can view the work allocated to each loadin the pre-load through the dispatch management system 240. In apreferred embodiment, the dispatch management system 240 is a thinclient in communication with the servers that control the pre-loadprocess. Although users can affect the pre-load process through thedispatch management system 240, the dispatch management client generallydoes not perform pre-load processing. In general, multiple users canmonitor the progress of the pre-load system through the dispatchmanagement system 240.

FIG. 11 is a screen shot from a dispatch management system 240 that ismonitoring a pre-load progress in real-time in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The dispatch management clientdisplay comprises rows of rectangular boxes. Each rectangular boxrepresents a load and each box is sub-divided into three portions. Inthis embodiment, the number in the top portion of the rectangular boxrepresents the maximum units of work that should be allocated to theload. In this screen shot, a unit of work is the number of delivery orpick up stops that has been allocated to the load. However, in apreferred embodiment, the dispatch management client allows the use tomonitor different measures for units of work, including, for example,the number of packages added to the load. The number at the bottomportion of each rectangular box represents a minimum amount of work thatshould be allocated to the load. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, if theamount of work allocated to a load is less than this minimum threshold,work may be cut from other loads and added to this load. Finally, thenumber in the middle portion of the rectangular box is a running tallyof the amount of work that has been added to the load. As the pre-loadproceeds and additional work is added to the loads, the numbers in themiddle portions are incremented.

In a preferred embodiment, each of the rectangular boxes in the dispatchmanagement display is color-coded. At the start of a pre-load, therectangular boxes are grayed-out. After the pre-load has continued for apredetermined time or reached some other predetermined threshold, therectangular boxes with loads that have exceeded the maximum units ofwork turn red and the boxes with loads that have less than the minimumnumber of units of work turn yellow. Rectangular boxes for loads thathave an amount of work allocated to the load that falls between theminimum and maximum thresholds remain gray. In this way, an operator canquickly glance at the display and determine which of the loads needadjustments or may need adjustments to their workloads.

In a preferred embodiment, the information used to calculate a stop isstored in the pre-load assist database 245, including stop information,adjustment factors, calculation methods for each address and commitwindow groups. In general, one package does not necessarily equate toone stop, nor does a single address necessarily equate to a single stop.For example, assume a shopping mall has a single address but ten retailstores at that address. Assume further that fifty packages are to bedelivered at the mall. If the work calculation was based solely on thenumber of packages, the service provider would be credited for fiftystops even though the service provider is not required to travel betweenstops to service the fifty packages. If, on the other hand, the workmeasurement was based solely on the number of stops, the serviceprovider would only be credited for a single stop despite the fact that50 packages are to be delivered across ten retail stores. Thus, in apreferred embodiment, the work measurement used to calculate a stopinvolves a calculation method that is unique to each address and thevarious methods used to calculate work are stored in the pre-load assistdatabase 245.

Multiple dispatch management systems 240 are setup in a service centerand may be monitoring the pre-load progress at any given moment. In apreferred embodiment, the dispatch management systems 240, implementedas clients in this embodiment, have a subscription-based relationshipwith the pre-load assist application 230. In essence, when a user wantsto use a dispatch management terminal to monitor the pre-load, thedispatch management terminal contacts the pre-load assist application230 and registers itself. The pre-load assist application 230continuously monitors the assignment of handling instructions,assignment of work loads, and manifesting of packages. At certainintervals, for example every thirty seconds or once a minute, thepre-load assist application 230 contacts one or more terminals of thedispatch management systems 240 that have registered with it and updatesthem with the new work measurement counts for each of the loads. One ofordinary skill in the art, however, will readily recognize thatadditional methods may be used to update the dispatch managementterminals. In an alternative embodiment, for example, the dispatchmanagement clients can be setup on a browser-type system that allowsthem to request a refresh of the pre-load data on command.

The following paragraphs describe the add/cut procedure in the pre-loadassist system 230 in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Asdescribed above, the dispatch management system 240 provides visualindicators to users when a load has been allocated more than a maximumnumber of units of work. In such an event, the pre-load assist system230 allows the user to request an add/cut through the dispatchmanagement client. In a preferred embodiment, the actual add/cutprocessing is performed on the pre-load assist server; however, therequest for the add/cut is initiated by the dispatch management system240. In addition, the pre-load assist server can refuse the add/cutrequest. This occurs, for example, if two users working from differentdispatch management systems 240 have requested an add/cut for the sameload. When this occurs, the pre-load assist server accepts the firstreceived request and refuses the later-received request.

In a preferred embodiment, the user of the dispatch management system240 performs an add/cut by double clicking on a rectangular box thatcorresponds to a load. This changes the dispatch management systemdisplay and the user receives detailed information about the units ofwork that have been allocated to that load. In the case of a load thathas too much work, two types of cuts are possible: a planned cut and anunplanned cut. As discussed above, a planned cut is part of the dispatchplan and reflects, for example, the dispatch plan designer's recognitionthat on certain days the workload for a particular service provider willbe heavy. In such case, the dispatch plan already knows which workshould be cut from the load and to which load or loads the work shouldbe added. In a preferred embodiment, in the case of a planned cut, theuser merely sends a request to the pre-load assist system to implementthe cut as planned. Alternatively, the user may request an unplannedcut. Unplanned cuts occur when too much work is allocated to aparticular load and the overload is not anticipated in the dispatchplan.

In a preferred embodiment, there are two methods of cutting work from anoverworked load: to cut remaining packages or to cut current packages.In the case of a cut of current packages, work is removed from one loadand distributed to one or more other loads. To perform this type of cut,the user uses the dispatch management system 240 to identify the work tobe cut from the load and further identifies the destination of the workthat is being cut. The user's add/cut instructions are then sent fromthe dispatch management system 240 to the pre-load assist system as acut request. If the pre-load assist system grants the request and makesthe desired cut/add changes, all of the registered dispatch managementsystems are updated with the change in load work volumes. In addition,add/cut instructions are printed, which the user gives to the affectedpre-loaders who physically redistribute the packages from the overworkedload to the new loads.

In contrast, when a remaining cut is requested by a user packages arenot physically removed from one load and redistributed to other loads.Instead, the pre-load assist application 230 changes the pre-loadhandling instructions that will be used on incoming packages. Thus,packages that would normally be directed to the overworked load may beredirected to other loads as designated by the user that has performedthe cut. In addition, in a preferred embodiment the PALs that areprinted from the altered pre-load handling instruction will be flaggedto indicate to the pre-loaders that a current cut has occurred. Thisprevents confusion in the event that the pre-loader recognizes theaddress on a package and knows that the dispatch plan originally plannedto have the package sent to a different load.

In a preferred embodiment, the adds and cuts made to a pre-load are notreflected in the manifest stored in the pre-load assist database 245. Inan alternative embodiment, however, the pre-load assist application 230updates the manifest to reflect the planned and unplanned adds and cutsmade during the pre-load operation. In still another embodiment, thepre-load assist database 245 stores a complete history of sort flowchanges, including adds and cuts, and allows the user to undo changesthat were made. Moreover, the pre-load assist database 245 includes anarchive of past sorts, including the manifests and history of past sortflow changes.

The following paragraphs describe the enhanced DIAD download system 220in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In apreferred embodiment, service providers carry a DIAD unit 225 with themas they service a route. DIAD units 225 are well known in the art andare used by UPS service providers in the package delivery environment.At present, the DIAD units 225 are used to collect information about theservice provider delivery and pickup activities. At the end of the day,the service provider places the DIAD unit 225 in a rack and anapplication known as a DIAD control system 250 controls the upload ofthe information that was stored in the DIAD unit 225 throughout the day.Typically, some information about package pickups and deliveries istransmitted from the DIAD unit 225 to the carrier computer systemsduring the day. However, the upload that occurs at the end of the dayprovides a more detailed description of the work performed by theservice provider.

Another function of the DIAD unit 225 that is well known in the industryis the ability to store address and consignee guidance information.Typically, at the start of the day the service provider picks up his orher DIAD unit 225 from the rack and the DIAD unit 225 has stored in itevery potential address along that service provider's delivery route. Asa driver delivers and picks up packages along the route, the driverenters the activity into the DIAD unit 225. Because the address guidanceinformation has been uploaded to the DIAD unit 225, the service providertypically only needs to enter a few of the characters of the address andthe DIAD unit 225 populates the rest of the address using the addressguidance information. This limits the keystrokes that the serviceprovider has to enter and lowers the number of typographical errors inentering address information. In addition, the consignee guidanceinformation provides the service provider with any specialcustomer-specific rules that may be needed to serve the customer.

A limitation of existing delivery systems that is recognized in theindustry is the inability to provide a service provider with a clearpicture of the work to be performed on a given day. While existing DIADcontrol systems are capable of uploading a list of every known addressalong a route, the DIAD units 225 do not tell the service provider whichof those addresses are part of the delivery route for that day. Atpresent, the only way that a service provider knows the work assigned tohim or her on a given day is to physically search through the packagesin the storage area of the package car. And this manual search oftenleads to delivery errors.

For example, assume a service provider expects to see all of thepackages with an 8:30 AM commit time on the top side of shelf 1. Assumefurther that one of the packages with an 8:30 commit time was oversizedand was loaded on the floor because it did not fit on the shelf. If theservice provider does not notice the oversized package when he or shereviews the storage area, the package may not be discovered until afterthe commit time has passed. A need therefore exists in the industry foran improved system and method for providing service provider's with amanifest of the scheduled work for a route. Specifically, a need existsfor a system that will download an electronic manifest of the work intothe DIAD units 225 carried by service providers.

FIG. 12 illustrates an enhanced DIAD download system 220 that willdownload a service provider manifest to a DIAD unit 225 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, theenhanced DIAD download system 220 includes one or more DIAD units 225, aDIAD control system 250, a data archive server 255, a pre-load assisttool kit 260, and a route manager 265. In a preferred embodiment, theenhanced DIAD download system 220 is also in communication with thepre-load assist system 210, which, in turn, communicates with thepackage information database 65 and/or the pre-load assist database 245.

The DIAD control system 250 controls the upload and download ofinformation from the DIAD units 225 while the units are stored in arack. In a preferred embodiment, the DIAD control system 250 resides ona workstation in a service center and communicates with the DIAD units225 via an optical communication interface. One of ordinary skill in theart however will readily recognize that other communication interfacesmay be used instead of the optical interface, including infrared,cellular and/or wireless.

The data archive server 255 is another carrier server in communicationwith the DIAD control system 250 that receives information that has beendownloaded from the DIAD units 225 at the end of day. As discussedbelow, among the information sent to the data archive server 255 is adisposition on all of the manifested packages, including information onthe work performed that was listed on the manifest, the work performedthat was missing from the manifest, and the work listed on the manifestthat was not performed. This information is then passed from the dataarchive server 255 to the pre-load assist tool kit 260 where thedisposition information is compared against the actual manifest. In apreferred embodiment, the comparison of the disposition data to themanifest provides a report card on the accuracy of the manifestinformation, the decisions made by the service provider during the dayand the accuracy of the information received from customers.

The route manager 265 serves as an interface between the DIAD unit 225and the pre-load assist system 210. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 12, the route manager 265 communicates with the DIAD units 225directly via an IrDA interface or through another IrDA device connectedto a local area network. The DIAD units 225 access the local areanetwork via an IrDA device connected to a universal serial bus port of apersonal computer or, alternatively, through an IrDA device connecteddirectly to the network. One of ordinary skill in the art, however, willreadily recognize that other methods of communication between the routemanager 265 and DIAD units 225 are possible and can be equallyadvantageous with the present invention.

The following paragraphs describe the process of using the enhanced DIADdownload system 220 to download a manifest to a DIAD unit 225 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

At the start of the day, the service provider retrieves a DIAD unit 225from a rack of DIADs and immediately before beginning a route connectsthe DIAD unit 225 to an IrDA device and downloads a manifest of theactivities for the day. In an alternative embodiment, the manifest maybe downloaded to the DIAD unit 225 prior to the service providerretrieving the DIAD unit 225 from the rack. The advantage to waiting todownload the manifest until just before the route begins is that themost recent version of the manifest is downloaded. Thus, last minuteadditions or modifications to the load that occur after the serviceprovider has retrieved the DIAD unit 225 from the rack may not beincluded in the manifest if the DIAD control system 250 assumesresponsibility for the manifest download. In an alternative embodiment,the DIAD control system 250 downloads the manifest while the DIAD unit225 is in the rack and a cellular or wireless data radio updates theDIAD unit 225 with any changes to the manifest.

In a preferred embodiment, the route manager 265 receives the requestfrom the DIAD unit 225 for a manifest and forwards the request to thepre-load assist system 210. In a preferred embodiment, the pre-loadassist system 210 retrieves the requested manifest from the packageinformation database 65 and transmits the manifest information throughthe route manager 265 to the DIAD unit 225. In an alternativeembodiment, the pre-load assist system 210 may store and retrieve themanifest information from a pre-load assist database 245 rather than thepackage information database 65. When the route manager 265 receives themanifest from the pre-load assist system 210, it downloads the manifestto the DIAD unit 225 and the manifest thus is made available to theservice provider during the route. In a preferred embodiment, a serviceprovider can update the manifest information as often as necessary. Forexample, if an add/cut is performed after the service provider hasdownloaded the manifest, the service provider can reconnect the DIADunit 225 to an IrDA device to update the manifest with the add/cutinformation. Alternatively, the DIAD unit 225 is able to communicate viawireless, cellular or other communication methods known in the art andupdates to the manifest are transmitted to the DIAD unit 225 after theservice provider begins the route.

The DIAD unit 225 is programmed to perform a variety of functions usingthe manifest data, including, as a non-limiting example, work transfer,“determine next activity” and “perform activity” functions.

In the case of a work transfer, manifest information is passed betweenDIAD units 225. In a preferred embodiment, manifest information for oneor more units of work is passed from one DIAD unit 225 to another DIADunit 225 using the IrDA ports on the units. For example, if one serviceprovider has fallen behind his or her delivery schedule, the serviceprovider has the option of transferring some of the work to anotherservice provider. If the work transferred involves packages that need tobe delivered, the service providers will meet at a convenient locationwhere the physical packages will be transferred from one package car toanother. In a preferred embodiment, the service providers will be ableto change the electronic packages as well. Thus, by allowing DIAD unit225 to DIAD unit 225 communication, the work associated with the firstservice provider's manifest may be passed to the second serviceprovider's manifest. As another example, if the work that is transferreddoes not require the physical exchange of packages, for example if thetransfer work is a pick up at a particular location, the work associatedwith the pickup may be electronically exchanged between DIAD units 225via a cellular, wireless, wide area network or other communicationmethods known in the art. Thus, two or more service providers canexchange units of work without being near each other.

Another benefit of having manifest information present in the DIAD units225 is the “determine next activity” function. At present, a serviceprovider is continuously moving in and out of the storage area of thepackage car as he or she proceeds along a delivery route, repeatedlyreviewing the work that needs to be completed. And a service provider'sfailure to keep a close eye on the work often results in a missed committime or the need to backtrack along the route to deliver a package thatwas missed. The “determine next activity” function of the DIAD unit 225addresses this planning problem by tracking the manifested work andpresenting the service provider with an ordered plan to complete thework.

In a preferred embodiment, a service provider can access the manifestdata in several ways, including a whole view and a commit time view.When the whole view is used, the manifest is organized by commit anddelivery order listing (DOL). DOL organizes work based on the sequenceestablished by the dispatch plan without regard to premium servicelevels. The commit time takes into account that work with a premiumservice level must be completed on or before established commit times.The whole view of the manifest defaults to the DOL view of the manifest;however, work that has a commit time gains priority in the manifest listas the commit time approaches. In other words, the manifest displayincreases the priority of commit time work to notify the serviceprovider that a commit time is approaching and the service providerneeds to start considering the work for a future delivery.

In a preferred embodiment, the “determine next activity” function of theDIAD unit 225 controls the manner in which the manifest is organized inthe display. As a particular commit time approaches, the work that mustbe completed by the approaching commit time is given higher precedencein the list of work. In one embodiment, if more than one package has thesame commit time, the commit packages are sorted by DOL. In analternative embodiment, the determine next activity function estimatesthe location of the service provider based upon the work remaining onthe manifest and organizes the commit time work so that the manifestlists those commit time packages that are closest to the serviceprovider's present position. In still another embodiment, the DIAD unit225 is equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) and uses the GPSunit to determine the service provider position.

In a preferred embodiment, the service provider may also view themanifest using a commit time view. The commit time view lists only thatwork on the manifest that has a commit time and, in a preferredembodiment, the work is organized first by commit time and then by DOL.In alternative embodiments, the commit time work is organized first bycommit time and then by the work that is closest to the service providercurrent location.

Still another benefit of having manifest information present in the DIADunits 225 is the perform activity function. In a preferred embodiment,the perform activity function is used when the service provider makes adelivery or picks up a package at a stop. Because the DIAD unit 225already has the delivery information in electronic format, the deliveryinformation is pre-populated on the DIAD unit 225 display and theservice provider does not have to key enter the delivery information. Ingeneral, when a service provider makes a delivery he or she will scan abar code on the package shipping label and the delivery information forthe package will be pre-populated on the DIAD unit 225 display. Inaddition, the perform activity provides the service provider withaccessorial data for that stop, including information such as whether anadult signature is required for the manifested work and/or whether thework is a cash-on-delivery transaction. One of ordinary skill in the artwill readily understand that other types of accessorial information maybe included in the manifest and made available to the service provideras part of the perform activity function.

In a preferred embodiment, as work is completed the work disappears fromthe manifest display. At the end of the day the manifest is cleared andthe service provider returns the DIAD unit 225 to the DIAD rack.Disposition information collected throughout the day is then uploaded tothe DIAD control system 250 and is passed to the data archive server 255and pre-load assist tool kit 260. In a preferred embodiment, thepre-load assist tool kit 260 then compares the disposition informationagainst the manifest, which provides feedback about the accuracy of themanifest process, the decisions made by the service provider and theaccuracy of information received from the customers.

D. Package Notification Through RFID Technology

The following paragraphs describe systems and methods that use RFIDtechnology to identify a package and notify customers of an estimatedtime of arrival for inbound packages.

In a preferred embodiment, a pre-load assist system 210 performs thepackage notification function. As described above, a pre-load operationbegins with the scheduling of a dispatch plan. At a high level, thedispatch plan is a file that has divided the territory for a servicecenter into separate loops, and further sub-divided the loops intoseparate routes. Every potential address in a service provider route isidentified in a dispatch plan and is assigned a sequence number. As theservice provider performs the work assigned to a route, the addresssequence in the dispatch plan determines the order in which theaddresses in the route are serviced.

As packages are received in a pre-load system 200, an interrogator 20 inthe flexible data capture system 215 reads the RFID package tags 50associated with each package and captures a unique RFID identifier 55.In one embodiment, the RFID identifier 55 contains sufficientinformation about the package to allow a pre-load assist application 230to match the package against the dispatch plan. In an alternativeembodiment, the pre-load assist application 230 uses the RFID identifier55 as an index into a package information database 65 to obtain thenecessary package information. In either case, the package informationmade available by the RFID identifier 55 allows the pre-load assistapplication 230 to generate a pre-load handling instruction for thepackage.

Once the pre-load handling instruction is assigned to the package, thepre-load assist application 230 manifests the package. In a preferredembodiment, the process of manifesting a package means that the packageis added to a particular load manifest. As additional packages areprocessed by the pre-load system 200, the load manifest for each load inthe pre-load is updated. In a preferred embodiment, at the end of thepre-load the load manifests provide a complete picture of the workassigned to each service provider route. In addition, the sequence inwhich the work will be performed is also available in the dispatch plan.

At the completion of the pre-load operation, a package notificationapplication 270 imports each of the load manifests generated in thepre-load operation. The notification application 270 compares the loadmanifests against the dispatch plan to determine the sequence in whichthe work associated with each load will be performed. In a preferredembodiment, the notification application 270 consults work measurementtables that provide estimates based on historical data of the timerequired to perform each unit of work. The notification application 270then assigns work estimates to each task in a load manifest and, in thisway, approximates the time of day when the service provider will performeach unit of work assigned to a given route.

Once the package notification application 270 has estimated the time atwhich each unit of work in each manifest will be completed, theapplication 270 determines which parties have requested inboundnotification. In one embodiment, inbound package notification is tied toa particular package service level. In such case, the notificationapplication 270 reviews the service levels for each unit of work in amanifest and identifies those that are associated with inboundnotification. For each unit of work requiring a notification, thenotification application 270 performs a lookup into the packageinformation database 65 and retrieves the necessary contact information.Thus, if an email notification is associated with a particular servicelevel the notification application 270 retrieves an email address forthe person or entity that has been requested to receive thenotification. Alternatively, if a facsimile notification is associatedwith another service level, the notification application 270 retrieves afacsimile number and the name of the person to receive the notification.

A request for notification may originate with either a shipper or aconsignee. Further, when a shipper makes the request, the shipper mayrequest that consignees receive notification of inbound packages and/orthat the shipper be notified when packages are about to be delivered.The following paragraph describes the process wherein a shipper requeststhat his or her consignees be notified of incoming packages.

In a preferred embodiment, the package notification application 270determines each of the packages from the pre-load for which the shipperhas requested consignee notification and aggregates those packages thathave the same shipper contact information. Thus, if a shipper has twopackages in the same pre-load that are bound for the same consignee, thenotification application 270 will send a single notification thatidentifies each of the packages and their respective anticipated timesof arrival. This is true, even if the packages will be delivered viadifferent service providers from different routes. As another example,if the shipper sends packages to two different consignees, eachconsignee can receive a separate notification that lists only thepackage associated with that consignee.

A similar aggregation can occur for consignees that request notificationof inbound packages, even for inbound packages that have been shipped bydifferent shippers. For example, assume that a retailer has requestednotification for inbound packages, and assume further that in aparticular pre-load three packages will be delivered to the retailerfrom shipper ABC and two packages will be delivered from shipper XYZ. Ina preferred embodiment, the notification application 270 will aggregatethe package notifications and provide the retailer with a singlenotification that identifies the five inbound packages, the shipperassociated with each package and the anticipated arrival time of eachpackage.

In a preferred embodiment, the notification application 270 isconfigured to provide notifications via email, facsimile, pager orautomated messaging system. One of ordinary skill in the art, however,will readily recognize that other forms of communicating informationabout inbound packages are known in the art and may be used with thepresent invention.

E. Other Uses of RFID Technology in Package Delivery Systems

In another embodiment of the present invention, individual containers ina carrier system are tagged with a unique RFID identifier so that theuse and location of the containers may be monitored over time. RFID tagson containers also allow monitoring of vehicle utilization.Alternatively, RFID tags can be affixed to the vehicles. From thisutilization information, the carrier has sufficient information to makedynamic or real-time adjustments to carrier fleet sizes to maximizevehicle utilization. In a related embodiment, the utilizationinformation allows the carrier to employ alternative financing,accounting, or charging methods responsive to the container and vehicleuse patterns. Moreover, the ability to track container usage helps thecarrier to prevent the loss or destruction of package containers byindicating where in the system the containers are stored and/or lost.

In another embodiment, the RFID tags on containers aid the carrier involume planning. As described above, the package sortation systems inhubs allows the carrier to forecast where in the carrier system eachpackage is headed. This ability will also allow the systems in one hubfacility to notify downstream locations of inbound shipments. Thusallowing these locations to plan for the next stage in the sortation ordelivery process based on actual package volumes. In a relatedembodiment, the sortation system and hub facilities can use the packageinformation provided by RFID to notify pre-load systems of the inboundpackage volume in a pre-load. And, in a preferred embodiment, thepre-load system could determine from the notification the work volumeassigned to each load in the pre-load. Accordingly, adjustments could bemade to the dispatch plan or pre-load operation before the first packageis ever pre-loaded.

In still another embodiment, electronic product codes (EPCs) may beadded to packages. The use of EPC data coupled with RFID technologywould thus allow the identification of the contents of the package. Inone embodiment, a unique RFID package identifier that identifies thecontents of a package would be used to aid in the processing of packagesin customs by providing detailed customs information that would allowthe package to be processed by customs without necessitating the openingand physical inspection of the package contents. Many governmentagencies, including customs, require information about the contents ofthe package. In a preferred embodiment, the EPC code of the package isadded to the package information database and therefore iselectronically available to carrier custom systems or other system thatrequire package content information. Similarly, package content can beclassified and package sortation and delivery process can be tailored tothe content of the packages. Thus, for example, the sortation anddelivery of hazardous or perishable merchandise differ from theprocessing used for other packages.

As previously described, the identification of packages by radio signalallows the sortation and movement of packages without requiring thatpackages be oriented on a conveyor belt. In another embodiment, packagesmove through a hub facility or other sortation system in a group, oreven in a single container or vehicle, and an interrogator 20 is coupledto a data processing application configured to obtain and separateinformation from multiple RFID tags that enter the interrogation zone atthe same time. In this way, the packages can be sorted and/or directedto the next downstream location without being physically removed from acontainer or separated from other packages. In another embodiment, acarrier vehicle or container carrying multiple packages may be scannedas the container or vehicle moves into or out of a hub or pre-loadfacility and the RFID tags of each package read and compared against asortation plan to insure that packages have not been misloaded. Theprocess of scanning individual packages just before moving them ontocarrier vehicles is known in the art and discussed in U.S. Pat. No.5,804,802 to Card, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The package sortation methods and systems, which comprise an orderedlisting of selectable services can be embodied in any computer-readablemedium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system,processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch theinstructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or deviceand execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a“computer-readable medium” can be any means that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readablemedium would include the following: an electrical connection(electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette(magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (magnetic), a read-only memory(ROM) (magnetic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM orFlash memory) (magnetic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that thecomputer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable mediumupon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronicallycaptured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or othermedium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitablemanner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.

Further, any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should beunderstood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code whichinclude one or more executable instructions for implementing specificlogical functions or steps in the process, and alternate implementationsare included within the scope of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention in which functions may be executed out of order from thatshown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverseorder, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understoodby those reasonably skilled in the art of the present invention.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent invention, particularly any “preferred embodiments” are merelypossible examples of the implementations, merely set forth for a clearunderstanding of the principles of the invention. Any variations andmodifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of theinvention without departing substantially from the spirit of theprinciples of the invention. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of the disclosure andpresent invention and protected by the following claims.

In concluding the detailed description, it should be noted that it willbe obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations andmodifications can be made to the preferred embodiment withoutsubstantially departing from the principles of the present invention.Also, such variations and modifications are intended to be includedherein within the scope of the present invention as set forth in theappended claims. Further, in the claims hereafter, the structures,materials, acts and equivalents of all means or step-plus functionelements are intended to include any structure, materials or acts forperforming their cited functions.

1. A method comprising the steps of: scanning a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag on a package to generate scanned dataincluding a package identifier; sending the scanned data including thepackage identifier from the scanner to a hub control system remote fromthe scanner; receiving the scanned data including the package identifierat the hub control system; generating at the hub control system ahandling instruction for the package based on the scanned data by usingthe package identifier to retrieve package information indicating thepackage's destination, and using the package's destination to determineone of multiple sort destinations within a hub facility to which thepackage is to be routed by execution of the handling instruction;transmitting the handling instruction from the hub control system tomachine controllers associated with respective conveyors and sortingdevices along a sortation path to the one sort destination; receivingthe handling instruction at the machine controllers for the multipleconveyors and sorting devices along the sortation path; and sorting thepackage by executing the handling instruction at the machine controllersfor the multiple conveyors and sorting devices to route the packagealong the sortation path to the sort destination corresponding to thepackage's destination, at least some of the multiple sorting devicespositioned at different locations in the hub facility spaced apart fromone another by respective ones of the multiple conveyors.
 2. A method asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the scanning is performed by conveying thepackage on a belt past an interrogator that generates the scanned databy scanning the RFID tag.
 3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein thesorting is performed in the hub facility to deliver the package toanother hub facility along the route to the sort destination for thepackage.
 4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the handlinginstruction comprises a pre-load handling instruction for pre-loading apackage into a delivery vehicle.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 1wherein the package is sorted for delivery to an addressee identified bythe scanned data based on the handling instruction.
 6. A method asclaimed in claim 1 further comprising the step of: storing the scanneddata in a package tracking database.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 1wherein the scanned data comprises package information data including anaddress, further comprising the step of: validating the address using astreet and consignee alias database of an address management system. 8.A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the scanned data comprisespackage information data for which no valid address can be determined,the method further comprising the step of: key-entering data based on ashipping label associated with the package to generate the handlinginstruction.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising thestep of: capturing with a camera an image of the package for use by anoperator to determine and key-enter a valid address for the package incase the scanned data does not comprise sufficient data to determine theaddress to which the package is to be shipped.
 10. A method as claimedin claim 1 further comprising the steps of: estimating time of deliveryof the package based on the scanned data; and notifying the shipper,consignee, or both, of the estimated time of delivery of the package.11. A method comprising the steps of: scanning a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag on a package to generate scanned data; sendingthe scanned data from the scanner to a hub control system remote fromthe scanner; receiving the scanned data at the hub control system;determining at the hub control system whether the scanned dataidentifies package information including the package's destination; ifthe scanned data does not identify the package's destination,determining whether the scanned data identifies a package identifier orconsignee alias to retrieve package information indicating the package'sdestination; if so, retrieving the package information at the controlsystem based on the package identifier or consignee alias; if thescanned data does not identify the package destination and no packageinformation can be retrieved using the scanned data, optically scanninga shipping label on the package using a camera to produce opticallyscanned data; key-entering package information into the control systemto provide the control system with the package information necessary totransport the package to the package's destination using the opticallyscanned data; generating at the hub control system a handlinginstruction for the package based on the scanned data by determining oneof multiple sort destinations within a hub facility to which the packageis to be routed by execution of the handling instruction; transmittingthe handling instruction from the hub control system to machinecontrollers associated with respective conveyors and sorting devicesalong a sortation path to the one sort destination; receiving thehandling instruction at the machine controllers for the multipleconveyors and sorting devices along the sortation path; and sorting thepackage by executing the handling instruction at the machine controllersfor the multiple conveyors and sorting devices to route the packagealong the sortation path to the sort destination corresponding to thepackage's destination, at least some of the multiple sorting devicespositioned at different locations in the hub facility spaced apart fromone another by respective ones of the multiple conveyors.